UGANDA’s President Yoweri Museveni, 80, has defended the use of military courts to try civilians – following an outcry over the arrest and trial of opposition leader Kizza Besigye. His 68-year-old rival has been charged in a military court with possession of pistols and attempting to purchase weapons abroad – accusations he denies. Besigye, who was abducted while visiting Kenya last month and forcibly taken to Uganda, found out on Tuesday that he would be spending Christmas in custody as his trial has been delayed until January. Museveni said any crime involving a gun was dealt with in a military…
Author: Editor
Read More
CHINA jailed two more former top football officials for bribery on Wednesday, court statements showed, following a sweeping crackdown on corruption in the domestic game. Liu Yi, who was secretary general of the Chinese Football Association (CFA), was handed an 11-year sentence and fined 3.6 million yuan ($497,000) for taking bribes, a court in central Hubei province said. A separate court in the same province said Tan Hai, former head of the CFA’s referees management office, was given six and a half years and a 200,000 yuan fine. “The property he obtained will be clawed back in accordance with the…
AT least five people have been killed in Israeli attacks on several towns in southern Lebanon, the country’s Health Ministry has said, amid a fragile ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah. “An Israeli enemy drone strike on the town of Ainata killed one person and wounded another,” the ministry said. An “Israeli strike on the town of Bint Jbeil killed three people,” while a third “on Beit Lif killed one person”, it added. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the attacks. Israel’s army escalated its attacks on Lebanon in late September after more than 11 months of…
THE father and stepmother of a 10-year-old British-Pakistani girl were found guilty Wednesday of her murder in a gruesome case of child abuse that shocked the UK and triggered an international manhunt. Urfan Sharif, 42, and Beinash Batool, 30, were convicted of Sara Sharif’s murder after she was found dead at her home last year, having suffered extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and bite marks. Her uncle Faisal Malik, 29, was also found guilty of causing or allowing her death after a week of jury deliberations at London’s Old Bailey criminal court. The sentencing for the “extremely stressful and…
A COURT in France has found French-Cameroonian author Charles Onana guilty of downplaying the Rwandan genocide. The 60-year-old writer was fined €8,400 ($8,900; £7,000) and Damien Serieyx, his publishing director from Éditions du Toucan, was ordered to pay €5,000. They are also required to pay €11,000 in compensation to human rights organisations that that filed the suit. The Paris court ruled that Onana’s writings violated France’s laws prohibiting genocide denial and incitement to hatred, noting that France would “no longer be a haven for denialists”. In just 100 days in 1994, about 800,000 people were killed in Rwanda by ethnic…
POLICE in Ghana have arrested more than 100 people – mostly opposition supporters of President-elect John Mahama – over acts of lawlessness. Supporters of the newly elected president who want jobs have allegedly attacked some state institutions, looted properties, and engaged in disturbances that have left some police and military personnel injured. The irate supporters also torched two electoral commission offices due to a delay in announcing the outcome of Saturday’s elections and disagreements over some parliamentary results. Mahama has condemned the vandalism and called on President Nana Akufo-Addo and security agencies to “act decisively” in addressing the violence. Vice-President…
THE Chairman of the All Progressives Congress in Edo State, Jarrett Tenebe, has defended Governor Monday Okpebholo after the governor faced public backlash for stumbling over budget figures during the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the State House of Assembly on Tuesday. A video of the governor’s budget presentation which shows his repeated attempts to correctly state the budget’s total amount went viral on social media. In the video, Okpebholo appeared flustered, saying, “The Edo State 2025 Appropriation Bill of 6 billion… 650… 605 billion… 76 thou… 76 million… “Let me take it again. 506 billion… 605 billion……
CHAMPIONS League group phase leaders Liverpool virtually sealed a place in the last 16 with a tight 1-0 victory at Girona on Tuesday after Mohamed Salah struck from the penalty spot. Liverpool have made a stunning start in the competition under coach Arne Slot, winning all six of their matches to move provisionally five points clear of second-placed Inter Milan. The English giants, six-time winners of the competition, were given a tough night by Champions League debutants Girona, who fell to a fifth defeat and are on the verge of elimination. Teams finishing in the top eight will avoid an…
DOZENS of wounded patients at the Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza are at risk of dying due to lack of food and water, Palestinian health authorities have said. The Ministry of Health in Gaza said late on Tuesday that 60 patients were “at risk of death”. “The humanitarian situation inside the hospital has become extremely dangerous, as the wounded lack basic needs, which increases their suffering under the difficult conditions imposed by [Israeli] forces,” the ministry said in a statement on Telegram on Tuesday. The hospital is located in Beit Lahiya in the north of the Gaza Strip, which has…
THE United States offered a $10 million reward on Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of a Chinese man and co-conspirators wanted for hacking computer firewalls. Guan Tianfeng, 30, is believed to be living in China’s Sichuan Province, according to the State Department. An indictment charging Guan with conspiracy to commit computer fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud was unsealed on Tuesday. The Treasury Department said it had imposed sanctions on the company Guan worked for, Sichuan Silence Information Technology Co Ltd. Guan and co-conspirators at Sichuan Silence allegedly took advantage of a vulnerability in firewalls sold by…
ZAMBIA’s top court has barred former President Edgar Lungu from standing for re-election in 2026. The Constitutional Court ruled that the 68-year-old politician had already served the maximum two terms allowed by law. Lungu was first elected president in January 2015 to serve the remaining 20 months of his predecessor’s term. President Michael Sata had died in office in October 2014. Lungu had argued that this should not count as he did not serve a full five-year term. But the court disagreed – reversing previous rulings that had cleared him to run three years ago when he lost to Hakainde…
SUDAN’s military has been accused of carrying out an air strike on a marketplace in the western region of Darfur in which more than 100 people were reportedly killed. The Emergency Lawyers rights group described the bombing in Kabkabiya town on Monday, the weekly market day, as a “horrific massacre”. Clashes have intensified in different parts of Sudan in recent weeks between the army and its former ally, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Both sides deny carrying out war crimes during their 19-month power struggle that has caused the world’s biggest humanitarian crisis and forced more than 11 million…
FOUR Manchester City players have been named in the Fifpro men’s World XI for 2024. Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk is the fifth Premier League player in the team, which is completed by Real Madrid players. Argentina superstar Lionel Messi, who left Paris St-Germain for Inter Miami in July 2023, is absent for the first time since 2006. The 2024 forward line is made up of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, Real Madrid’s Vinicius Jr and Kylian Mbappe, who left PSG for Real in the summer. His new team-mate at Real, Jude Bellingham, topped the men’s overall voting, with the 21-year-old…
DOZENS of Palestinians – including women and children – have been killed in Israeli attacks in Gaza, health authorities say, as a power outage threatens the lives of more than 100 patients at a hospital in the besieged territory’s north. Gaza’s Health Ministry said on Monday that 50 people were killed the previous day and 84 others were injured as Israeli forces committed three “massacres” in the territory. An Israeli drone attack in the Jabalia refugee camp in northern Gaza on Monday morning killed three people, sources told Al Jazeera. “[The victims] were trying to leave their home in search…
WORLD oil prices jumped Monday on fresh moves by China to boost its economy and as traders tracked an uncertain future for Syria and the wider crude-rich Middle East. Major stock markets diverged as investors reacted to political crises in South Korea and France, and tracked the perspectives for interest rate cuts. Gold, seen as a haven investment, gained around one percent. “The week has kicked off on a largely upbeat tone following the welcome announcement that Chinese authorities plan to enact further stimulus over the year ahead,” noted Joshua Mahony, analyst at traders Scope Markets. “This shift has already…
SENEGAL’s President Bassirou Diomaye Faye has said he is “making progress” in a mediation mission with junta-led Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger, after the trio announced their departure from regional bloc ECOWAS. The three Sahel countries announced in January they were leaving the Economic Community of West African States, which they accused of being subservient to former colonial ruler France and failing to support them in their fight against jihadist violence. Their departure becomes effective one year after the announcement, in January 2025, according to the bloc. The trio have formed the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) after severing ties…
THE UK and US governments have imposed sanctions on a British-Kenyan businessman over his alleged involvement in the illicit gold trade. Kamlesh Pattni, and four others including his wife and brother-in-law, will have their assets frozen, a statement from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth and Development Office read. He was implicated in one of Kenya’s biggest corruption scandals, Goldenberg, which is believed to have cost the country at least $600m (£470m). He has since faced allegations of involvement in the illicit gold trade in Zimbabwe, which he has previously denied. The BBC has asked him for comment. “Illicit gold is…
CHELSEA roared back from two goals down to beat Tottenham 4-3 on Sunday, moving just four points behind Premier League leaders Liverpool. Spurs raced into an early 2-0 lead but Enzo Maresca’s men turned the match on its head, scoring four times, including two penalties from England forward Cole Palmer, before a late goal from Son Heung-min. But his cavalier attacking approach will come under more scrutiny as Chelsea roared back to extend their unbeaten Premier League run to seven games. Jadon Sancho gave the visitors a foothold before they dominated the second half with Palmer twice cool from the…
SYRIAN opposition fighters have declared that the country has been “liberated” after they stormed the capital and announced that President Bashar al-Assad had fled the capital city to an unknown destination. Joyous celebrations erupted in Damascus and other parts of the country, including along the border with neighbouring Lebanon, with many displaced Syrians deciding to return home. The stunning opposition advance came after 13 years of brutal war, putting an end to more than half a century of the rule of the al-Assad family. Here’s a selection of international reactions to the news. This page will be updated as more…
UNITED States President-elect Donald Trump has announced plans to deport all immigrants in the United States illegally over his upcoming four-year term. In an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Trump detailed his vision for a broad crackdown on illegal immigration, which he intends to classify as a national emergency upon taking office on January 20. According to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security estimates that as of January 2022, over 11 million people are in the US without legal status, a figure likely higher today. Trump affirmed his intention to remove all unauthorized immigrants, stating, “I think…